USA TODAY Review

Christopher Buckley spins dog-eat-dog intrigue in ‘Puppies’

Writing comic fiction about world events demands wit and inside knowledge about Washington. It also requires an ability to see the light side of serious issues like China's treatment of Tibet, the death of beloved spiritual leaders and America's financial dependency on China.

These are not funny topics, but Christopher Buckley's new novel about them, They Eat Puppies, Don't They?, is hilarious.

The setup for Puppies harks back to Buckley's most famous novel, Thank You For Smoking.

"Bird" McInytre is a Washington lobbyist for the giant aerospace manufacturer Groepping-Sprunt. After its proposed and hugely expensive predator drone nicknamed "Dumbo" is shot down by the Senate, the company's CEO instructs Bird to foment American fears about China so Groepping-Sprunt can get funding for another secret U.S. defense system, this time in Asia.

Charged with putting "the 'Red' back in Red China," Bird sets up a phony foundation. He also gets involved with Angel Templeton, a leggy blonde ultra-conservative media superstar who runs The Institute for Continuing Conflict. (Buckley uses his friend Chris Matthews' show, Hardball, as the setting for Angel's screamingly funny verbal cage matches with Winnie Chang. This "China Doll" spy heads up the U.S.-China Co-dependency Council for Beijing.)

"Policy she-warrior" Angel soon has Bird on her office sofa. Not good, since he's married to the gorgeous and expensive Myndi, a top equestrienne trying out for the Olympics. Her admirers include a hedge-fund billionaire whose private jet with its horse stable has just been featured in Plutocrat magazine.

The convoluted but entertaining plot revolves around Bird and Angel's efforts to spread the rumor that the Chinese government is trying to poison the Dalai Lama. The novel's cast includes a fictional U.S. president, the CIA, the National Security Council and a Russian nicknamed Beluga. Also involved: the president of China and the eight other Communists who rule 1.3 billion people. (Buckley depicts the secretive workings of the Chinese Politburo with humor and insight.)

As usual, Buckley ties up all his loose ends in a clever conclusion and leaves the satisfied reader amused and informed about Tibet, China, media manipulation, and the weird workings of our own government.

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